On Sunday, the Boston Celtics had a 130-869 victory in Game 1 of their first-round series against the Orlando Magic. All-Star forward Jayson Tatum didn’t have the best scoring performance and finished with 17 points and 14 rebounds on 36.4 percent shooting from the field. During the game, Celtics fans were worried about Tatum, as he was on the floor grabbing his wrist.
The sequence happened after Magic’s Kentavious Caldwell-Pope fouled the 6-foot-8 forward. The officials had to review what happened and issued a flagrant foul penalty one to KCP. This didn’t hinder Tatum from staying in the game.
Jayson Tatum is down and grabbing his wrist
Appears to be in a lot of pain pic.twitter.com/g73ofB8Ulz
— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) April 20, 2025
After the game, Tatum spoke to reporters about his wrist. According to him, the pain went away as he continued playing.
“I just landed on it,” he said. “It was throbbing for a sec. It kind of went away.”
Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla also gave an update on Tatum’s condition. Mazzulla kept his update short and simple.
“He’s good,” Mazzulla said.
Joe Mazzulla on Jayson Tatum:
“He’s good.” pic.twitter.com/w1FSoejCPR
— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) April 20, 2025
Tatum’s teammate, Jrue Holiday, doesn’t think KCP is a dirty player. Holiday believes that the intensity of the postseason is the reason why the Celtics’ star suffered something unfortunate.
“Hard foul. Playoff basketball. 7th seed that’s gonna come out and fight and be physical. Just a hard foul,” the two-time All-Star said.
Jrue Holiday did not think too much of KCP’s flagrant on Jayson Tatum, when asked about it by @RealBobManning:
“Hard foul. Playoff basketball. 7th seed that’s gonna come out and fight and be physical. Just a hard foul.” pic.twitter.com/nKuC6wou1s
— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) April 20, 2025
It was guard Derrick White’s steady play that allowed Boston to win. He shot 55.6 percent from the field and scored 30 points. White also made 7 of 12 shots from outside the arc. The lone player with at least 20 points was the defensive guard, who stood 6 feet 4 inches tall.
Sixth Man of the Year Finalist Payton Pritchard continued his dominating performance in the playoffs. He played 24 minutes off the bench and had 19 points on 75 percent from the field.
Tatum called the Boston Celtics’ backcourt duo “selfless”
While White had the most points in their win over Orlando, Holiday also deserves some credit for what he’s done. The two-time champion had nine points, fice assists and three steals in Game 1. After the game, Tatum credited the backcourt duo for being selfless, which helped them end the game victorious.
“They’ve built a great chemistry. Just two selfless, high-IQ guys that can make plays on both sides, and they really make our team go,” Tatum said.
Jayson Tatum on the Derrick White/Jrue Holiday combo: "They've built a great chemistry. Just two selfless, high-IQ guys that can make plays on both sides, and they really make our team go."
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) April 21, 2025
Tatum knocks the importance of the two backcourt players. Last season, White and Holiday played significantly well in the postseason, which helped them secure the Larry O’Brien trophy.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
